Note-sheet-receiving spool for pneumatic music-playing instruments.



F. 0. WHITE.- NOTE SHEET RECEIVING SPOOL FOR PNEUMATIC musac PLAYING INSTRUMENTS. APPLlCAHON FILED APR. M, [91% 1,234,842. Patented July 31,1917.

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FRANK C. VII-IITE, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB TO' THE 'WILCOX &, WHITE COMPANY, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

NOTE-SHEET-RECEIVING SPOOL FOR PNEUMATIC MUSIC-PLAYING INSTRUMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 31, 1917.

Application filed April 14, 1917. Serial No. 181,983.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK C. WHITE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Meriden, Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Note-Sheet-Receiving Spool for Pneumatic Music-Playing Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to pneumatic music playing instruments and particularly to improving the note sheet receiving spool whereby it will be automatically adjustable to sheets of varying widths, the object being to effect the proper guiding of the sheet as well as to save the edges of the sheet from undue friction and wear.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of such parts of a music playing instrument as are essential to an understanding of my inven tion.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the parts in a different position.

1 represents a tracker. 2 represents a note sheet carried by a roll 3. 4 represents the cylindrical body of a so-called receiving spool on which the note sheet is wound during the playing operation. This spool is suitably mounted in bearings 55. The spool body 4. is provided with heads 67 at its ends, and these heads are made automati cally adjustable as to the space between them so as to accommodate, without undue friction, note sheets of varying widths. While note sheets such as now employed are in the main standardized as to widths, it is not uncommon to find a variation of a fraction of an inch. Ordinarily the receiving spools are either provided with rigid heads or, in some cases, manually adjustable heads so as to permit the user to manually fit the spool to each note sheet. This, however, is rarely accurately done, and frequently is overlooked entirely, with the result that the note sheet is either inadequately guided or injured at its edges. By my invention, the sheet is always efi'ectively supported at its edges without injurious pressure. To efiect this result automatically, I make at least one of the spool heads automatically shiftable. In this particular instance, the spool head 7 is slidable on the end of the spool, or the arbor 4 projecting therefrom. 8 is a presser bar which bears lightly against the outside of the spool head 7 so as to normally tend to move it toward the spool body 4 and into the most contracted position, this movement being preferably effected by a light spring 8. When, however, a note sheet is introduced the said sheet at the very beginning wedges the spool head 7 off sufficiently to permit said sheet to snugly rest between the heads 67. When the sheet is in this position as shown in Fig. 2, I provide a suitable lock to hold the presser bar 8 in this automatically established position of adjustment. In this particular form of my invention, I provide a pneumatic lock which may be constructed as follows. 9 is a slide movable to and fro by the presser bar 8 with which it is connected. 10l0 are supports for said slide. 11 is a locking bolt or arm carried by the movable back board 12 of a collapsible pneumatic. This pneumatic is connected by a pipe 13 to some part of the exhaust chamber of the pneumatic instrument. 14 conventionally represents a portion of said exhaust chamber.

In operation it is customary to first manually attach the end of the sheet 2 to the receiving spool a and to give the latter a partial rotation or sometimes a few rotations before the instrument is started. When the instrument is started the spool a will be turned so as to drag the music sheet 2 between the spool heads 6 F The pneumatic 12 is so adjusted that it will be slow acting, that is to say, it will not operate to lock the presser bar 8 until the full width of the note sheet has gotten between the spool heads 6 and 7 and has effected the proper spacing. Various means may be provided to guard against the premature operation of the lock. One simple method is to provide a very small, or contracted duct, as shown, at the point where the pipe 13 taps into the look ing pneumatic. This contracted duct is indicated at 13.

I am aware that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

It will be understood, of course, that the receiving spool is rotated by a suitable wind motor such as is commonly employed in this art and which is too well known to require illustration, which wind motor is also in communication with the exhauster, whereby the receiving spool will start to wind the sheet thereon to effect the proper positioning of the movable head before the pneumatic look will check the further movement of the head, the pneumatic lock being made to move at, a, sufficiently retarded speed to permit a sufficient portion of the note sheet to be wound. onthe body of the spool to effect the said head adjustment before looking occurs. It follows that thereafter the note sheet will be properly supported and guided between the heads of the receiving spool which latter are so positioned that they will not injuriously chafe or otherwise injure the edges of the sheet either during the playing of the composition or the rewinding thereof.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, I have conventionally shown a wind motor 16 suitably connected as by a chain or belt 17 with the winding spool A. This wind motor 16 is suitably connected asby a pipe 18 with some part of the exhaust mechanism whereby when the apparatus starts, the spool will wind a sufficient portion of the sheet thereon to properly space the heads 67 before the lock 11 takeshold.

I claim:

1. A note sheet receiving spool for pneumatic music playing instruments comprising a body portion having a head at each end, one ofsaid'heads being movable toward and from the other head, with means for pneumatically locking said head from outward movement after a note sheet has been started on said spool.

2. A note sheet receiving. spool for pneumatic music playing instruments comprising a body portion having a head at each end, one of said headsbeing movable toward and from the other head, with means for pneumatically locking said head from outward movement after anote sheet has been started on said spool, said means including a movable presser device cooperating with the movable head.

8., A note sheet receiving spool for pneumatic music playing instruments comprising a body portion having a head at each end, one of said heads being movable toward and from the other head, with means for antomatically holding said head from outward movementafter a note sheet has been started'on said spool, said means including a movable presser device cooperating with the movable head, and a pneumatic lockfor said presser device.

4. In a note sheet receiving spool for pneumatic music playing instruments, a body portion, a head at each end, one of Copies of this patent may be obtained for tomatically locking said head from furtheroutward movement when its position, has been determined by a note sheet.

6. In a note sheet receiving spool for pneumatic music playing instruments, a

body portion and a head at each end, one" of said headsbeing movable outwardly by the presence of a note sheet wound on said body between said heads, and means for antomatically locking said head from further outward movement when its position has been determined by anote sheet, saidmeans including a movableplayer device engagingsaid head, and a. pneumatic controlled lock for holding said presser device against movement after the correct position of said presser deviceandhead has been established by said note sheet.

7. A note sheet receiving spool for pneumatic music playing instruments comprising, a body portion having a head at each end, one of the same being relatively movable toward and from the other and'adapted to be moved away from the other by the winding of a note sheet on said body portion, means for locking said head against further outward movement after the same has been positioned by said note sheet, said means including an eXhauster and a slow actingi pneumatic brake.

8. In a pneumatic music playing instrument, a winding spool having relatively adjustable heads to receive between them note sheets of varying width, means for driving said spool to wind a note sheet thereon, looking means for holding the spool heads in their relatively adjusted position, an'eX- hauster for operating said spool driving means and said lock, with means to cause said spool driving means to operate in advance of said lock to wind a suflicient portion of a note sheet thereon to efiect the proper spacing of the spool heads before the lock takes effect.

FRANK 0. WHITE.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,v Washington, D. 0.? 

